The present invention relates generally to portable stools, and more particularly relates to collapsible kneeling stools.
Kneeling can be accomplished by resting on the either left knee or the right knee, or on both knees, such as during meditation or prayer, ceremonial events, watching sporting events, or the like. Benches or stools for supporting a portion of a user's weight in a kneeling position for extended periods of time can be useful in situations where a user needs to kneel for prolonged periods of time. While kneeling type chairs are known for use as an alternative to traditional chairs for use in a home or office, such kneeling type chairs are typically not lightweight or compact enough to be readily portable for use during meditation or prayer in out of the way locations such as gardens or in the wilderness, for example, or for watching sporting events such as at grass fields, such as for soccer or football, for example, where tiered stands or bleachers or other seating may not be available.
A portable milking stool is known that can be attached to the lower leg or ankle of a user, and can be positioned to support the weight of a user when the leg of the user on which the milking stool is attached is bent underneath the user. However, the milking stool is designed to be carried about while worn by a user on the user's lower leg, making the milking stool cumbersome for extended walking, and the milking stool is not conducive to supporting the weight of a user kneeling upon both knees.
A kneeling stool is also known that includes a frame to which ankle cushions and a seat are fixedly mounted, for supporting a user's ankles and feet, and for supporting a user's weight in a kneeling and sitting position. Another type of stool for supporting the weight of a user sitting at a low height above the ground is also known that includes a primary seating surface and a secondary, inwardly and downwardly sloped seating surface that curves around the primary seating surface. Another type of conventional compactable kneeling stool includes a base portion and a seat portion that is coupled to the base portion by a seat post. A pivot connection enables the seat post member to pivot with respect to the base portion, selectively adjusting a height dimension defined between the seat portion and the base portion to a desired pivot position about an axis defined by the pivot connection. While these stools are relatively smaller than traditional chairs for the home or office, they are still relatively bulky and cumbersome for a user to carry.
It would be desirable to provide an ergonomic and readily portable kneeling bench or stool that is lightweight and compact, and that is formed of a generally rectangular pedestal portion or base and a generally rectangular seat portion that can be combined in an assembled seat configuration to for supporting weight of a user kneeling on one or both knees, and that can be combined in a disassembled compact carrying configuration for storage or carrying by a user. The present invention meets these and other needs.